Retreats

  • $700.00 – Residential Stay
    plus dana (offered at the end of the retreat) to the teacher and to Heartwood. You can read more about the practice of dana here.
  • $553.00 – Commuter Option - Includes registration and meals, but not lodging.
    Does not include additional dana (offered at the end of the retreat) to the teacher and to Heartwood.
    Commuters attend the full retreat, including lunch and dinner, but are not provided with overnight accommodations. It is important to note that by registering as a commuter, you agree to attend the entire retreat and to arrive and depart at the scheduled time each day. Your presence is important, as having retreatants come and go or miss sessions can disrupt the container created by group practice.

$250 deposit saves your spot when you register early. The balance will be charged in two payments - $250 two months before the retreat, and the final balance one month before the retreat.

Location: Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center

Address: 159 Osceola Rd Hendersonville, NC 28739

Contact: Retreat Manager
[email protected]
828-356-5568

Cancellation Policy: View Here

Email us about program

Cultivating Equanimity & Peace

with Ronya Banks

October 20 - 27, 2019

Equanimity is the liberating quality that allows us to keep our hearts open and balanced, quiet and steady, in the midst of all change.” – Narayan Liebenson 

Considered the “Highest Happiness & Peace” in Buddhism, Equanimity is a liberating quality that can be developed as part of your spiritual practice.  During this retreat, we will systematically explore the Seven Factors of Enlightenment and related mindfulness practices which lead one to experiencing a lasting state of “equanimity”.

While immersing ourselves in the beauty and simplicity of the Heartwood Refuge Retreat Center, located in the mountains of Hendersonville, North Carolina, this silent meditation retreat’s schedule will include formal sitting meditation, walking meditation, daily dharma talks, specific instructions, Q&A periods, interviews, and chanting.

This retreat is appropriate for those who have attended a previous silent meditation retreat, as well as experienced daily meditation practitioners. 

Leader

Ronya Banks
Founder and lead teacher of the Asheville Insight Meditation center, in Asheville, North Carolina, Ronya Banks originally began her meditation practice in 1985, and she has personally spent over a year on silent residential Insight Meditation retreats with over 30 different teachers.   In addition to experience as a Theravada Buddhist nun, Ronya is also a graduate of the Spirit Rock & Insight Meditation Society’s joint Community Dharma Leader program.  She has been teaching for over a decade to people from all over the world.  Ms. Banks earlier life also included being a business entrepreneur, consultant, and single mother of…
Learn more about Ronya Banks